ROME, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- An Italian natural gas pipeline connected to Turkey might be enough for European energy demand, a director of an Italian utility company said.
The European Union has proposed funding the Interconnection Turkey-Greece-Italy project as part of a plan meant to diversify the regional energy sector.
The project aims to expand Turkey's national grid while connecting the three countries through a series of natural gas pipelines.
European leaders are pressing for progress on their planned Southern Corridor of transit networks to deliver non-Russian natural resources to regional consumers. The network includes the Nabucco gas pipeline, which would run through southern Europe through Turkey.
Roberto Poti, a development director of Italian utility Edison, said he felt ITGI was a more realistic project for Europe, Azeri news agency News.Az reports.
Nabucco received pledges from Azerbaijan for natural gas supplies. Poti said the country might make key decisions regarding ITGI as early as June.
Edison is a shareholder in the consortium managing ITGI, which could go into service by 2015.
